25

Noah
I stretched out my hand and impulsively placed it on my chest. Why was it beating so hard?
I turned to stare at Ashley, her eyes reminding me of the woman I danced with at the ball and so did her sharp tongue.
I scoffed remembering Ashley’s words. How dare she think that I was aching for her attention?
But it was all pretense for me, all I wanted was to forget the pressure of being a prince and the future King of Midon and Ashley had been my coping mechanism.
Her poker face was the one who welcomed me into the bakery. Her blinding beauty kept me gaping and her saucy mouth imprinted a grin on my face.
I placed a hand on my hips and wondered why my thoughts were distorted by her.
I sighted Emily walking towards me with a oily paper bag.
“Why did you clock out yesterday without saying a word?” I heard Emily ask.
My mouth opened and my hands reached out to rub my forehead.
“I had something important?” My lips widened to give out a witty smile.
The reason why I fled was because I was tired and stressed out with the arranged marriage and I also received a text from Daniel, telling me that it was time to leave for the royal palace. I sighed. This normal lifestyle was hard and difficult to get used to. I completely forgot that I was supposed to wait.
Silly me.
“You shouldn’t forget that. We all clock out together and you should tell us if you have anything important.” Emily deadpanned while I nodded in approval.
I joined Ashley at the counter who on the other hand was determined to create a sort of distance between us.
“What are you doing?” I questioned.
“Absolutely nothing.” came her response and then she shifted again.
I moves closer and she stretched forth a hand with a glare on her face, “Do not take another step.”
“Why?” I wondered. Was she scared of me.
“Just don’t.” she pleaded and then I turned to look at the door.
For several hours, no one walked through the door and I was beginning to get worried.
“No one has walked inside the bakery. ” I whispered while watching Emily clean the tables with a white napkin.
“I am aware of that.” I heard Ashely reply.
“And what should we do?” I countered, tapping my fingers against the wood.
“Nothing. We just wait.” she shrugged and continued humming a tune that I had zero knowledge about.
A noise jolted me back to reality and and I, Ashely and Emily exchanged looks before dashing to the bakery kitchen where the disturbance was coming from.
I was mortified by the events that unveiled before my eyes.
“Alfred, what’s wrong?” I heard Emily ask. Alfred was one of the bakery’s best. From what I heard from Mrs Ping, he had the ability to knead dough without getting exhausted while from what I observed, be was reserved, he talked less and even on the first day I entered the bakery, he asked me no question and made no drama either.
“The flour….” Alfred tried to explain, “There’s none left.”
“What do you mean by that?” Ashley asked, “A truck comes in every day with a bag full of it….”
“It’s not coming, today. The company we partner with just called that there’s a shortage, apparently.” Alfred responded.
“It’s the economy, isn’t it?” Emily placed a tired hand on the table.
I pushed my hands into my pants, “What does the economy have to do with this?”
Everyone turned to look at me and Ashley scoffed.
“Are you living under a rock? Prices of food have skyrocketed over the past two weeks. Do you even check the newspapers?” Ashely asked.
“I actually do not check newspapers.” I shook my head.
“Probably because your family is comfortable, ” Ashley rolled her eyes, “If you bothered to check, you would have seen that.”
Ever since I turned 20, I avoided newspapers like a plague. I rarely checked them. It all seemed boring and the black ink made it even worse. I placed my hand under my chin and shut my eyes.
My mother was right. The economy of Midon wasn’t stable. A lot of things were certainly not right and I haven’t even unraveled them all.
“So what do we do?” Alfred asked, “Mrs Ping….”
“She doesn’t have to know about it. ” Emily cut in.
“But what if she asks about the ledger?” Someone spoke up and I turned around.
Ashley sighed, “We will have to make an excuse then, Luke. ”
Alfred struck a pan against the table, completely engulfed by anger while Luke and the rest of the staff tried to calm him down. The sound of the bell ringing, indicating that someone had entered the bakery alerted us and I quickly ran towards the counter.
My eyes settled on a young woman who was dressed in a short skirt and a grey sweater.
“Do you sell cigarettes?”
I shot a look at Ashley who was also dazed. My hands reached out to scratch my hair in confusion.
“This is a bakery, ma’am. ” Ashely responded with a smile on her face.
“But you sell it.” I heard the woman respond.
“No, we don’t. ” Emily chipped in.
“Are you sure? I thought you do.” The woman countered back.
“This is not a place to request for such. I’m sure there are several places you can buy them from. ” I deadpanned with my hands outstretched.
“Why are you all mean to me? Why?” The woman cried and I took a step backward.
“I don’t think she’s okay. ” I whispered while nudging Ashley by the shoulders.
“Neither do I. ” Ashely responded, “She’s a junkie. A complete pyscho.”
“Who are you calling a pyscho?” she replied. I had no idea her ears were so sharp unlike her brain. She took quick strides towards Ashley while I blocked her way, knowing what was about to happen.
“Can you please calm down?” I said. Her nails were literally clawing at my face, digging into my flesh and trying to get rid of me so she could pounce on Ashley.
“She called me a pyscho. ” She repeated.
“And I can assure you that she would apologize for that, ” I hastily spoke, “Ashely, please apologize.”
“Over my dead body.” I heard Ashley respond as she shot up her neck, “She didn’t come here for a cup of coffee or pancakes. She came here to buy cigarettes. Does this look like a place to buy that? You are a pyschopath and that’s the damn truth. ”
“You are aggravating her, Ashley. Stop it.” I whispered.
“No, I won’t. You better move aside so I can rip her hair apart. ” Ashely replied.
The woman in question, knowing that I wasn’t going to step aside, decided to kick me by the ankles.
“Ouch.” I cried out, nearly loosing my balance. Her hands digged into my hair and I yelled, my scalp burning from her touch.
What on earth did I do to deserve this treatment?
And then I heard a deafening sound which made me cover my lips with my hands. Ashley has succeeded in giving the woman a blow across the nose and to worsen it, she was bleeding.
“Are you crazy? What do you think you’re about to do to my co-worker?” Ashley yelled, pushing me away so she could face the woman head on, “If you refuse to stop making a ruckus here, I will have no option but to call the patrol officer to come get you out of here. ”
For a moment, both women were locked in a battle of locked gazes while I and Emily exchanged nervous glances. The woman eventually walked out, cursing and banging the door behind her.
“That was so cool, Ash.” Emily triumphantly patted Ashley by the shoulder.
Ashely simply responded with a smirk before flipping her hair. She turned, batting her eyelashes at me while Emily carried brown boxes towards the storage room.
“What were you trying to do?” I heard Ashley ask.
“I was trying to make peace.” I lifted up a brow while my I rubbed my palm against the other.
“You wanted me to apologize for calling her a pyscho,” Ashely yelled, “And you didn’t want to step aside as I asked you to.”
“That was because she was offended by it and I also felt the need to protect…. you. ” I countered back.
“I do not care if she was offended by my words and who are you to protect me? You’re no prince and I’m not a damsel in distress.”
I chuckled nervously. If only she knew she was talking to. The way her lashes batted at me and the way her lips kept moving.
Damn.
The urge to shove her against the wall, grab her waist and kiss her till she was limp in my hands was a desire I couldn’t stop thinking about. Why was her lips so pink and pretty?
Why was my mind focused on that?
“What if I were the Prince of Midon?” My lower body touched a table and I sat on it with my hand under my chin.
Ashley let out a beastly laugh which made my ego shrink. She tilted her head, swiping away the hair that hindered her sight.
“The Prince of Midon?” she uttered, “I already danced with someone who calls himself, the Prince of Midon, you crazy pervert.”
The smile on my face disappeared and then I began to ruminate on her words. Was she the Ashley that I danced with at the ball?
Was she?
Was she the woman who left me during the dance?
I wanted to probe her further but the bell rang again and when the intruder entered, I groaned.
Why did it have to be Mason?